Myer: Walker's the talk

NATIONAL: New Zealand designer Karen Walker is the latest recruit in Myer's campaign to capture the everyday dollar.

Following in the footsteps of designers Toni Maticevski and Wayne Cooper, who both supply the Australian department store with branded diffusion lines, Walker will launch her own 20 piece collection in February next year.

Myer director of apparel Judy Coomber said as more designer labels were introduced into the Myer stable, it was important to offer price pointed collections that related to a broader audience. She said unlike other competitors in the local market, these designer collaborations were not pitched as a short-term strategy and that a maximum of six designers would be signed on. 

"Each of them will be tied in for a couple of years, not one season," Coomber said. "We're very selective about which designers we collaborate with - we need to share a good, strong relationship with them, they need to have a great profile in the market and their designs need to be easily developed into a commercial collection." 

Manufactured in China, Walker's capsule collection will include dresses from $200, trousers from $180, jackets from $200, tops from $100 and knitwear from $130. Patterns will range from vintage florals and teardrops to mono-prints and "techno" shapes. Fabrications will include silks, voiles and cottons in airforce blue, black, greys and mustard yellow.

Coomber said in the lead up to the collections' February launch, when it will be dropped in 17 Myer stores nationwide, Myer would host a press launch, install a concept fit-out and feature the designer in its fashion catalogue to drive sales.
"We've been working on this on and off for about six to eight months and decided to really drive it hard from March this year. We believe it will receive solid customer support in the same way Wayne and Toni's collections do."

By Assia Benmedjdoub